


First Chance at a Family

by blueboxesandtrafficcones



Series: 31 Days of Ficmas 2020 [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Cameos, F/M, Morning Sickness, Pregnancy, Time Skips, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:55:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27831865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueboxesandtrafficcones/pseuds/blueboxesandtrafficcones
Summary: A year after their impromptu wedding, Rose and John must contend with an unexpected third in their dynamic duo.A pregnancy fic told in four parts; sequel to Second Chance at Forever.
Relationships: Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: 31 Days of Ficmas 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2037040
Comments: 11
Kudos: 31
Collections: 31 Days of Ficmas 2020





	First Chance at a Family

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Sequel to Second Chance at Forever.
> 
> Day 2 in 2020's 31 Days of Ficmas.
> 
> Prompt: ginger/gingerbread

“Ugh.” Wiping at her mouth Rose leaned back, closing the toilet lid and reaching for the flush. Tilting over onto her side, she rested her heated face against the soothingly cold bathroom floor, feeling like death warmed over. “This is the third morning in a row, and I’m starting to think it’s not the New Year’s hangover,” she mumbled into the tiles. “I’m not ready to go there.”

Her one comfort was that John was surely already at work, blissfully unaware of the physical and mental turbulence occurring in her stomach. No need to worry him before she had to.

“If I still don’t feel well tomorrow, I’ll go see a doctor,” she bartered with her stomach, hand hovering over it for a moment before clenching her fist and lowering it to the ground. That, she felt, would be a tacit acknowledgement of the increasingly-likely scenario, and she wasn’t ready to face that yet. “And if not, definitely the day after.”

She lay there for a few more minutes, eventually determining it was safe to resume her day. Moving gingerly, she washed her face and brushed her teeth, pulling her dressing gown tightly around her as she shuffled towards the kitchen-

And froze, shocked to see her husband sitting at the table sipping from a mug and writing on a piece of paper.

“Morning,” he said flatly, not looking up. “That’s for you.” His head tilted in the direction of a steaming mug across from him, and she sank into the seat without taking her eyes off him.

Lifting the mug to her lips, she found ginger tea, her stomach clenching at the implication.

“I thought you had office hours this morning,” she broke the silence once she’d drunk half of it. “Why…”

“My wife is sick, I wanted to be here if she needed me. However, I didn’t want to intrude if she wasn’t ready to tell me what’s going on?”

And just like that, she knew- that her fears were correct, and worse, John had clearly figured it out first. _Shit._ In the back of her mind she knew this was a _good_ thing, she should be happy about it, but _we’ve only been married a year, it’s too soon!_

She let out a sigh. “Technically, I don’t _know_ what’s going on. I just have… growing suspicions.” Peeking up at him, she met his eye, his expression softening.

“I see.” Setting down his pen John removed his glasses, rubbing at his face for a moment before rising, coming around the corner of the table to kneel beside her. “I realized yesterday, and… it’s more than a suspicion.”

“That’s what I get for marrying a doctor,” she joked weakly, rubbing her thumb along his jawline. “I wasn’t… _keeping_ it from you, I just… hadn’t faced it yet myself.”

Leaning up, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Okay. I’ve already called us both off, so why don’t we lie down for a cuddle, and not talk about it?”

“Okay,” she agreed, heart filling with love for such a wonderful, understanding partner. “I’m gonna finish this tea, first, though.”

“Absolutely.” John stood, resting his hand on her back and offering her a small smile. “The ginger will help with the nausea. So will a nap.”

Deciding to bring the mug to the bedroom with her, she let him guide her into bed, curling up in his arms with her head on his chest and his hands on her belly.

* * *

Seven nausea-filled days later found them sitting in an exam room, Rose aggressively chewing on a piece of ginger candy as she sat on the table looking around. John was seated on the guest chair, seemingly enthralled with a pamphlet, though his bouncing leg gave evidence to his own anxiety.

“Oi.”

He looked up, blinking. “Yeah?”

“Why ginger?”

“What d’you mean?”

She gestured with the bag of candy in her hand. “Why does this supposedly help?” With every minute they had to wait she was growing more nervous, and nothing distracted her the way her husband could when he fell into ‘professor mode’.

John immediately abandoned the pamphlet on the countertop, leaning forward to brace his elbows on his knees. “Well, first, it’s a traditional remedy dating back thousands of years, mostly in India and Southeast Asia, where it grows naturally. It’s fairly interesting actually – it helps with a number of ailments, and isn’t limited to the digestive tract. Current thought is that it’s an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant, and can cure sickness from motion and chemotherapy, not just-” he paused to wave at her, but was prevented from continuing by a rap on the door followed by it opening.

“Good morning,” the doctor said brusquely, stepping in. “Noble?”

“Yes,” they chorused, Rose adding, “I’m Rose, this is John.”

The doctor nodded, consulting the iPad in his hand. “Great, I’m Doctor MacMartin. So, I have your test results.” He sat on the stool, setting down the tablet and looking at her for the first time. “You’re pregnant.”

Despite having spent the last week coming to terms with the idea, the confirmation knocked the breath from Rose’s lungs. Pregnant. _A baby._ She looked to John, who was silent, eyes wide and surprised but pleased, with a silly smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. In response her own twitched, and suddenly they were beaming at each other, tears pricking at her eyes.

A baby. A _family_.

And just like at the end of The Grinch, her heart expanded.

* * *

“I have _literally_ never hated you more than I do at this moment.”

John, the bastard, had the gall to smirk, not pausing as he tucked her in. “It’s just for two weeks,” he said cheerfully. “Then our bundle of joy will be here, and you won’t _want_ to get out of bed. You should rest while you can.”

She huffed in response, folding her arms across her enormous belly. At thirty-seven weeks she’d been placed on bed rest as a precaution, and two hours into it, she was already going mad. John was fussing over her like a mother hen, and she already knew it would be worse when word spread and Donna and Jackie showed up to ‘help’. She was tired, and sore, and she hadn’t seen her feet in _months_ , constant heartburn, and the most galling bit- “Why do you lie?”

“About what?” Kicking his shoes off he settled himself next to her hip, one hand naturally settling to the bump and stroking, doing little to calm the rolling child within.

“‘Morning sickness’. More like ‘all day sickness’. And why do you say it’s only during the first trimester? Why am I _still_ nauseous? I mean, I know I haven’t actually been sick, but honestly, I don’t mind that so much- at least after I feel better, if only for a few minutes. But there’s no relief!”

He clucked his tongue sympathetically, hand moving to caress her knee. “I know it sucks, and you’ve had it rough. But you’re doing brilliantly, really, and I’m so proud of you. You’re already such a great mum.” Leaning forward, he nabbed a ginger candy from the nightstand and handed it to her. “Not much longer.”

“And to think, people say _this_ is the easy part,” she muttered petulantly, unwrapping the candy and popping it in her mouth. “I just wanna meet them.” They’d decided, after weeks of squabbling, not to find out what they were having- the deciding factor had been when Pete had let slip Jackie’s plans for a gender reveal party, and Rose had put her foot down out of principle.

John was silent for a long minute, waiting out her sighing and grumbling until she settled. “I know. Me too. But for now, can I tempt you with a movie instead?”

“Don’t you have to go to work?” Even as she said the words she reached for her mobile, pulling up Netflix to broadcast it to the telly he’d set up.

“Nah,” he said easily, moving to sit next to her, close enough they were touching from hip to thigh. “And, I had one in mind.” Nabbing her mobile, he held it out of her reach, typing one-handed.

Moments later the telly flicked on, Netflix opening on the movie credits, and she gasped. “Top Hat! My favorite.”

“I know,” John said smugly, dropping the mobile on the bed in favor of taking her hand. “I know you and your Mum have Cliff Richards movies, and I want us to have something similar with little Florence.”

“Not happening,” she didn’t glance at him. “Ginger and Fred- yes. _Florence_? No. We’re not having a grandmother.” The baby kicked then, and she smiled down fondly at her stomach. “Isn’t that right, little one? Daddy’s just being silly, you’ll see, Earl.”

Her husband scoffed. “Is that a pun? We are not name our child _Earl Noble_ , Rose Tyler- talk about setting him up for failure!”

“Shush. The movie’s starting.”

Grinning, they turned back to the show- neglecting the dancing on screen to focus instead on the movement of her belly, the child within dancing to the music far more interesting.

_Two more weeks!_

* * *

Fighting back a yawn, John made his way down the corridor to the waiting room, stopping just out of sight to take in the room. Everyone they loved most was gathered there, scattered around in small groups. At first glance the only person missing was his godson August, the baby likely with Martha’s parents; even Tony was there, though the six-year-old was asleep against his father.

It warmed his heart to see them all together, waiting, already loving the little life they didn’t know had arrived, and was currently be weighed and cleaned up. Slipping his mobile from his pocket he took a picture of the group, wanting to capture this moment, show his child how loved they were from their first breath.

Taking the few steps needed to enter the room, he bit back a smile when no one looked up or registered his presence. “You all waiting on someone?”

In seconds he had everyone’s full attention, eager eyes waiting with bated breath, and he knew he was failing to contain his joy as they gathered close, instantly dropping their newspapers and books and mobiles to focus on him.

“Well?!” It was Tony who broke the silence, eyes still full of sleep, and John crouched down in front of him.

“C’mere, mate.”

The boy stepped closer, watching impatiently, little brow furrowing. “Is my Rosie okay?”

“She is.” John took a deep breath, nearly overwhelmed with the moment, and the weight of the words he was about to say. “So’s your niece.”

The room was silent enough to hear a pin drop for one heart stopping moment; and then Jackie screamed “It’s a girl!” and everything devolved into chaos, as he was pulled in every direction for hugs, kisses, and congratulations.

“Wait!” Donna commanded, loud enough to be heard over the chatter, drawing everyone’s attention. “More information. Is Rose okay? What’s the baby’s name? When can we see them?”

“Right.” Still hugging Martha, somewhat leaning on her for support, he organized his thoughts. “Rose is fine- a champ, of course, though she’s exhausted. Baby’s good, big and healthy. And you can see them in an hour or so.”

Martha poked him viciously in the side. “And her _name_?”

His smile grew, thinking of his little girl – for so long she’d felt like an abstract concept, despite watching Rose’s belly grow and actively planning for her arrival. But now she was _here_ , and beautiful, and his heart was fully. “Genevieve Amelia. Jenny.”

This brought on more gushing, and far too many questions for his tired brain to track, much less comprehend or answer, until once again, his sister’s voice broke through.

“Who’s she look like?”

“Rose.” He grinned; every baby he’d ever seen had just looked like a squirming blob, especially at only minutes old, but not his little girl- no, _his_ daughter already looked so much like her mother it was uncanny. “But she’s got your hair.”

“Yes!” Donna crowed, clutching onto Lee’s arms. “Another ginger! We need more of them in this family, I always said that. Does this mean I get first dibs on meeting her?”

This sparked a new, lively debate between Donna, Sylvia, and Jackie, John just shaking his head with a grin. Catching his grandfather’s eye he tilted his head slightly, before grabbing his brother-in-law’s hand and slipping away with a wink to Pete.

Everyone would have a chance to meet the baby, but they’d decided the oldest and youngest would have first dibs.

Overwhelmed by the urge to see Rose and Jenny, he quickened his step.

His family needed him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
